Brent, Broeckx, Kruegger, Ratte elected; NCGA merger plan rejected; Vision Statement adopted

by Deborah Trupin

On Sunday, April 18, about 100 Coop members gathered at Sage College in Albany for the Honest Weight Food Coop’s Annual Meeting. Before the formal start of the meeting, members enjoyed delicious food prepared by the Coop’s deli staff. At 6 pm, HWFC Board president Lynne Lekakis called the meeting to order and introduced the Board members.

Board Members Elected

The first order of business was election of new Directors to fill four vacancies on the Board. Operations and administrative coordinator Cindee Lolik facilitated this part of the meeting.

Three applications to serve on the Board were received before the meeting from Ray Ratte, Mell Dragon, and Howard Brent. Three more members were nominated from the floor: Desiree Kruegger, George Broeckx and Peggy Steinbach. Both Brent and Broeckx were standing for re-election. During the next hour, members posed questions about issues facing the Coop for each of the candidates to answer, and the candidates took turns answering each question. The questions focused on the source, meaning and use of Coop profits (including non-monetary "profits"), on the "living wage" issue, and on candidates’ opinions about the proposed NCGA merger.

When the 101 ballots were counted, Ray Ratte, Desiree Kruegger, and Howard Brent had been elected to the three three-year seats and there was a tie between George Broeckx and Peggy Steinbach for the two-year seat. A run-off vote was held, which resulted in George Broeckx’s election.

"No" Vote on NCGA Plan

Next came a discussion of the proposal from the National Cooperative Grocers Association (NCGA) to dissolve the regional cooperative associations, including the Cooperative Grocers Association of the Northeast (CGANE), of which HWFC is a member. The NCGA would act — as the regional cooperative associations now do — as the negotiator with the one remaining natural foods distributor. Details about the proposal, the issues it raises, and the pros and cons of the proposal had been included in the mailing announcing the Annual Meeting.

Lynne Lekakis facilitated the discussion, keeping track of the numerous people who had questions or wanted to address the issues raised by the proposal. Cindee Lolik, who had attended a national meeting on the proposal, and staff (and Collective Management Team) members Gayle Anderson and Nancy Reich, helped to answer many of the questions raised. In response to a question, Lynne reviewed the Board’s recommendation that HWFC vote "No" to joining NCGA, but that — since it was already clear that the proposal would pass, regardless of HWFC’s vote — HWFC join the organization and try to change some of the less appealing parts of the proposal. Lynne noted that the Board’s initial reaction had been to reject the proposal and not to join, but that after talking with CMT members they felt it would be appropriate to join and try to make changes, while also seeking to develop other supplier networks.

No one attending the meeting voiced an opinion that the proposed organization was a good one or that the proposal itself was good. Discussion focused on the risks to HWFC of not joining (Would it mean loss of sales? Higher prices? Fewer choices? What would our liability be if NCGA did not pay bills?), and on the ethics of joining an organization knowing that we (HWFC) do not agree with its concept or operating principles. (Questions were raised about how the NCGA’s board would be selected and the extent of its power.) After about 45 minutes of discussion, a vote was held. Members voted 94-to-6 that HWFC vote "No" to NCGA, and 54-to-40 (with 6 marking "No Preference" in this part) to join, once the new organization came into existence.

Vision Statement OK’d

The third order of business was a discussion and vote on the proposed Vision Statement prepared by the Strategic Planning group. Lynne Lekakis read the text and again facilitated a discussion. Discussion focused on issues about growth and moving and about the connection between the language of the Vision Statement and the discussions just held about joining NCGA. Sue Spang, who has served on the Strategic Planning group, pointed out that a vision statement articulates values, that it expresses goals that are just out of reach, but is not an action plan. Others expressed appreciation for the hard work that the Strategic Planning group had put into the statement. A vote was held and the Vision Statement was approved unanimously.

Limited Space Issues

Gayle Anderson, representing the staff, spoke briefly about the issues the staff sees with HWFC’s current space. Staff acknowledge all the ideas that come out in planning and visioning sessions, especially those calling for more meeting and community space. They then look at the store and realize there is simply no room. Gayle noted that the volume of sales per square foot is now at about where it was at Quail Street just before the move. She also noted that sales had increased about 500% since the move from Quail Street. She briefly noted some of the problems with the location — including parking, access onto Central Avenue, roof, and drainage — that make it seem problematic as a long-term home.

The meeting ended with a brief open discussion. Questions and comments continued to focus on the issues of growth, vision, and community. Several people commented on the need to help new shareholders become members (i.e., helping to keep member labor levels up.) Since several members had ideas for helping to work on this, and on finding alternative suppliers to UNFI, a sign-up sheet was passed around.